HIGHWAY CHILD CARE & EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
NEWSLETTER November 2019
NEWS FROM THE DIRECTOR
DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday 11th Nov National Recycling Week begins
Wed 4th Dec End of year Celebration/Party
Professional Development
Kylie attended a training day on cultural awareness, she learnt about traditional practices still occurring in the Aboriginal communities and we look forward to her returning from leave and sharing more about this day with us.
Jess and Judy returned from Reggio Emilia where they participated in a 5 day study tour. The learning they took part in was the ‘Reggio Emilia Approach to education’ looking deeper into the values, the wonder of learning, the culture of the atelier and the 100 languages of children. The focus of this study trip was documenting of children’s learning. We look forward to sharing this learning with all of the educators and families as we move forward in our research within our context in 2020
Staffing
Kylie is on Long service leave from 28th October to 29th November. Madelyn will be on leave from 20th November to the 26th November.
We welcome Aimee to our community; she is working with the Toddler room team. Aimee has worked in childcare for over 10 years, the last 3 years she has worked at a childcare/therapy program for children with autism, this was a very rewarding experience for her. Aimee loves to learn about other cultures and is looking forward to building relationships with you all, she is a strong believer that children learn well when they are in a relaxed, safe and trusting environment where they feel valued, and a sense of belonging as a part of the community.
Did You Know?
Inhale
Did you know that you cannot talk and inhale or vice versa. When you speak, you will not be able to inhale. Give it a try?
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Sustainability
National Recycling Week
Recycling aids in the fight against pollution, resources going to landfill and global warming by reducing the amount of new materials we use to sustain our lifestyle. Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week (Monday 11 to Sunday 17 November 2019) is the annual opportunity for councils, workplaces, schools and individuals to brush up on their knowledge and become successful recyclers. Australians are willing recyclers with 90% of us agreeing that it is the right thing to do. However, recycling is a constantly evolving industry, with new initiatives and technologies in continual development which can lead to confusion about what can and can’t be recycled. This year’s theme is Recycling Mythbusters
https://planetark.org/campaigns/nrw.cfm
BABIES ROOM
What a delight this warmer weather has been! The sun is out, hats are on, flowers are blooming, birds are singing and the babies are playing. A perfect time to tend to our blossoming garden. The children eagerly collect their watering cans waiting patiently for them to be filled and hurrying to pour them onto our garden beds. This enhances the children’s learning to grow a shared appreciation and increase their knowledge of respect for natural and constructed environments.
During October, we celebrated space week! Our aspiring astronauts rocketed into making our very own galaxy within the under 2’s environment, perhaps you noticed our paper plate planets hanging within the milky way? We also quite enjoyed learning the action song “Zoom, Zoom Astronaut” and the popular favourite “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.
Here are the lyrics to the part of Zoom, Zoom Astronaut we have learned, and perhaps you’d like to sing it at home?
Zoom, Zoom Astronaut are you having fun?
With the stars and the moon and the great big sun.
Are you up there all alone?
Wouldn’t you rather be at home.
Zoom, Zoom Astronaut are you having fun?
With the stars and the moon and the great big sun.
Coming up this month, we will be celebrating the Diwali festival. Diwali is a five-day festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. The festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings. The children will be working together to create their own lanterns, garlands and diyas.
We will also be extending on our projects such as the entomology project and the gardening project.
As the weather continues to warm up, we will be incorporating more water play opportunities. So remember to pack a change of clothes and a hat. What an exciting time ahead!
Jasmine, Amanda, Bronte & Jayanti
TODDLER ROOM
Its spring time which means the garden is blooming with trees getting leaves and flowers which provide lots of shade when we play outside in the garden. The weather is getting hot and the children in the 2 to 3’s room love water play during the day to beat the heat. Water play is a sensory experience and it helps children to feel the water on their hand while they pour, scoop, squirt and splash. The children use different tools to measure the amount of water that can it can hold learning concepts such as; the smallest to the largest, full and empty. As the weather is getting hot we need to remember that before going out in the sun, we must make sure to apply sunscreen and put our hats on.
We had e opportunity to celebrate space week and the theme for this year was “The moon, getaway to the stars”. World space week is officially defined as “an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition.” The children in the 2 to 3’s room engaged in many experiences regarding space. We all researched together on the iPad about space and what we can find in the space. Together we researched about the stars and used those provocations to create our own stars using aluminium foil, scrunching it together to form a star and then hanging them next to our planets in the room creating our own space.
We researched about the planets, what they look like and where they. The children then had an idea…..they created a new planet and named it “Dinosaur planet” the children used loose parts and the dinosaurs to share their ideas as they moved the dinosaurs around the objects on the large play table.
This is working towards the Early Years Learning Framework outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.
This is evident, for example, when children use play to investigate, discuss, project and explore new ideas in order to develop an increased understanding of the interdependence between land, people, plants and animals.
Zahra, Iqbal, Marie, & Madelyn
PRESCHOOL ROOM
We’ve been having a lot of fun in Pre-School room! The children were happy to investigate the endless possibilities both inside and outside! Children’s ideas were tested as they were involved in an inquiry into insects and the garden project whilst we enhanced our numeracy and literacy. The preschool room children continue with their love and interest for nature. The children have embraced a caring role in looking after nature as they water the strawberries, the flowers and the whole garden every day. We have also been practicing and learning how to use sand paper to care for our environment and the reasons behind this, we discuss what happens to wood and our logs and how they can gradually change and some days we find that splinters can occur as we play, the children are very keen to check over the services each day and to help sand the services to reduce the possibilities of splinters coming out by using sanding blocks in a safe and practical manner. Sanding is a great woodworking task, as we encourage the children to actively participate in being socially responsible by removing splinters.
First they worked together to find the rough spots around the garden. ‘Look Vlora this is how you need to use the sand paper. You hold it and you go up and down until is smooth’ said Abrahim excited. That is correct. ‘Is there any other way we can use it?” I asked. ‘I do it in the circle’ said Joshua. ‘Me too’ said Jake. ‘You need to touch with your fingers to see if its smooth and this is smooth’ said Blake as he was pointing to the part that he was sanding. The preschool children learnt how to sand the object using a circular motion and also a back and forth motion as needed and to periodically feel the object if it is smooth. We will continue to use different grades of sandpaper at different stages in the sanding process.
This is working towards the Early Years learning Framework Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. This is evident when children become socially responsible and show appreciation and care for environments.
Numeracy indicator: I analyze, read and organize the data in my world. Collect, sort and organize data. Literacy indicator: I use language to connect with my world. Maintain a reciprocal shared conversation As part of the program in preschool room we will continue working on writing our names, engage in experiences to help us build the fine motor muscles and hand eye coordination skills required in order to successfully write our names. We will look at the letters in our names and sounds that each of the letters make. We also practice how to spell our names and write from left hand side of the page the right. The children are highly interested in their own name. It has meaning and value to them and it is an interactive part of the children’s day. Furthermore, we will continue to go to the Salisbury Downs Library and Karrendi Primary Schools for an excursion. These visits give children opportunities to connect with the school, make friends and get to know the school environment/facilities. We all make transitions in our lives. Helping children to become familiar with the school environment and expectations will make their transition less stressful and fearful.
Vlora, Kylie, Brittany, Masooma, Sheridan & Loan
FOOD AND NUTRITION
Learning about Diversity through Food and Culture
As our society becomes richer and more diverse with the influences of different cultures as we have the chance to experience a wide range of cuisines. What better way for children to learn about different cultures than by offering them foods and meals from different countries?
Children can be picky eaters but remember that studies have shown that children may need to be offered a new food at least 10 times before they will accept it.
Australia’s multicultural richness offers many opportunities for exploring differences and similarities through food and eating.
In children’s services, providing food from diverse cultural backgrounds, recognises and respects children of various cultures.
Teriyaki Chicken noodles
1 skinless breast of chicken, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 small red capsicum, chopped
1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
1 carrot (cut into sticks)
1 cup of cauliflower chopped
½ cup of baby corn
¼ cup reduced salt teriyaki sauce
450gm hokkien noodles
Using a wok or frying pan, fry chicken and onion until browned. Take out chicken and leave to the side until later.
Add all the vegetables and cook through in frying pan with a little water to help soften them.
Remove about a cup of the cooked vegetables and puree with a little of the sauce.
Place everything back into the frying pan until warmed through.
Serve on top of noodles.
(if your child doesn’t eat the vegetables let them just eat the bits they like, the pureed vegetable sauce should coat the chicken. To make mealtime fun let your child try chopsticks.)
Lynn & Janet
Health Notices/News
Overcoming the starting school anxieties
Starting school brings with it many competing emotions for parents and their children. It is exciting yet can also be a daunting new transition. Children are easily affected by their parents’ emotions and actions. That’s why it is important to recognise and normalise your own feelings and theirs, and focus on the positives and opportunities.
Focus on the positives for your child:
Making new friends, learning new skills, growing up, exciting playgrounds, special uniform
Develop a plan for a positive drop off:
Begin with a goodbye ritual or routine such as a high five, thumbs up, goodbye hug or special saying. Always say goodbye and reassure them about when you’ll be back. Avoid lengthy goodbyes as they may increase separation distress. Talk positively and enthusiastically about what they will be doing when they are away from you, for example: “I look forward to hearing about what you’re going to do today, sounds like you’re going to have some fun.”
It’s also important for parents to take care of themselves and use their own strategies and social supports to celebrate the transition.
Remember that children’s development varies from child to child and that they will develop rapidly over the school years. Every child is different and will move at a different pace in how they settle, interact and learn.
Schools are great places to develop a range of academic, social emotional, independence, resilience, artistic, sporting, and musical skills in scaffolded and supported ways. There is something for everyone. Supporting them by normalising any fears, anxieties or uncertainty is really important, as is being there and listening